Barley Bin Special Series: A look back at 50 years of barley breeding in Western Canada
Welcome to a special edition of the Barley Bin podcast!
Usually, our goal with this podcast is to bring you right inside the barley bin. But today, we’re going to do something a little different – we’re taking you on a trip back through time, deep into Canadian barley history.
Today, Canada is a top producer and supplier of barley and malt to the global malting and brewing industry.
But that hasn’t always been the case.
In the early 1970s, the Canadian malting barley industry was miniscule in relation to its size today.
There are several reasons for this increase.
One of them is that, in the last 50 years, Canadian barley breeders have worked diligently to develop new malting barley varieties to meet the needs of Canadian farmers and the malting and brewing industry.
This hasn’t always been an easy, or clear cut task. But it does make for an interesting story!
Join us as we dive in and get itchy, looking back at the development of some of Canada’s most well-known malting barley varieties.